Virat Kohli Scores First Test Hundred Since 2019: How Smith, Root, Babar & Williamson Fared During That Period

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Virat Kohli ended more than a three-year wait for his 28th Test hundred on Sunday (March 12) during the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Kohli's last hundred in the longest format had come in November 2019, when India hosted their first-ever Day-Night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Although he got off to starts in some innings since that hundred against Bangladesh, the three-figure mark evaded Kohli not only in Tests but across formats.

The 34-year-old, however, ended the drought with a maiden T20I hundred last year. Kohli continued his rich vein of form and scored two hundreds in ODIs to take his international centuries tally to 74

Kohli, who had failed to score a hundred in any format including the IPL since November 2019, finally ended his wait during Asia Cup 2022, where he smashed his first-ever T20I hundred in a group stage match against Afghanistan.

A few months later, the star India batter added another ton in an ODI against Bangladesh and also scored one against Sri Lanka in the 50-over format earlier this year in January. And on March 12, Kohli also scored a ton in the red ball with a knock of 186 against Australia.

While Kohli's wait for century prolonged, his rivals in the fab five - Joe Root, Steve Smith, Babar Azam and Kane Williamson - gained some mileage in the longest format.

Here is a look at how Root, Smith, Babar and Williamson fared when Kohli waited for his 28th Test Hundred:

Joe Root (England)

Root, who had scored 7056 runs including 16 hundreds in 87 Tests when Kohli made his last Test hundred, has gone to add 3892 runs and 13 hundreds at an average of 56.40 in 42 Tests since then to take his Test record to 10948 runs and 29 Hundreds.

Babar Azam (Pakistan)

Babar, who had scored 1340 runs including 2 hundreds in 22 Tests when Kohli scored his last Test hundred, has since gone on to add 2356 runs and 7 hundreds at an average of 60.41 in 25 Tests to take his Test record to 3696 runs and 9 hundreds in 47 Tests.

Steve Smith (Australia)

Smith, who had amassed 6977 runs including 26 hundreds in 69 Tests when Kohli had scored his last Test hundred in November 2019, has gone on to add 1805 runs and 4 hundreds at an average of 26.50 in 27 Tests to take his red ball record to 8782 runs and 30 hundreds in 96 Tests.

Kane Williamson (New Zealand)

Williamson had scored 6214 runs including 20 hundreds in 75 Tests when Kohli made his last Test hundred in November 2019. The New Zealand batter has since gone on to add 1695 runs and 7 hundreds at an average of 60.53 in 18 Tests to take his overall Test record to 7909 runs and 27 hundred in 93 Tests.

Virat Kohli (India)

During his wait for a hundred, the star India batter had scored 1028 runs at an average of 25.70 in 23 Tests with his highest score being 79. As for his overall Test record, Kohli has amassed 8416 runs and 28 hundreds at an average of 48.93 after his century against Australia on March 12, 2023.